Today we’d like to introduce you to David And Bonell Dominguez.
Hi David and Bonell, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
David had been in the hair industry for years when he and I met. We decided to open a barbershop together in my hometown in 2012. It was a small military town in the central valley of California. The business flourished, and as it grew, David pushed me to learn to be a barber. Instead of me just working behind the scenes, he mentored me, taught me the craft, and helped to make me the barber I am today.
Fast forward to 2020, and the covid pandemic shut down our entire industry. The little barbershop we started had turned into a booming business, but was closed for the majority of 2020. After some prodding by family, a lot of long talks and a really uncertain future, we decided it was time to really consider moving our business and our family elsewhere. We made a trip to East Tennessee in mid December of 2020 to visit my mom, and five days was all it took to fall in love with the area, the people and the culture.
We found a little storefront in Oak Ridge on our last day here, and apparently, it was just meant to be. We signed the lease before getting on a plane to go back home to California.
After that, it was a whirlwind activity until we came back to live. The shop in California closed permanently on new Year’s eve of 2020. We said goodbye to our clients, family and friends, and started a 5 day road trip across the country to our new home.
It was an amazing trip. Our family treated it as an adventure and for as scary as it was to leave, it was exciting to just pack up and go. We stopped in all the major cities on I-40 and skated the coolest skateparks on the way, and made a lot of great memories with our kids before we even got here.
In late March of 2021, Bolts Barbershop opened on S. Tulane Ave in Oak Ridge. David worked a lot of long days and into the evenings building the business while the rest of our family settled in to our new community.
Our shop brought a new service mentality and structure to an area that never had something like this before and was almost an instant success. I went back to work behind the chair in July of 2023. I brought along Brice Mayton and Michael Ayala, two really talented Master Barbers who I met while getting licensed here in Tennessee.
All of a sudden, the little Barbershop with just one steady barber, was now a four chair shop that was bursting at the seams.
So in April of 2024 we expanded and moved to our new location on the Oak Ridge Turnpike. We hired Grant Harrison, another Master Barber, in February of 2025, and now there are 5 Master barbers at Bolts and still growing.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It is always hard opening a new business, but we offer something that has value. The hardest thing coming to a new area is waiting for the people that appreciate your business to find you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Bolts is unlike any other shop. It’s a place you have to visit to understand. It’s somewhere that men can still go and be themselves, talk shop and unwind. Nothing is offlimits when it comes to the banter at Bolts. And yet it’s a place where everyone feels welcome.
We offer high quality, consistent services, tailored to each individual customer. We are not a corporate shop, and the individual personality of each barber is encouraged. We all click, and people feel that. Most importantly we offer something that most people here have never had, a barbershop that is theirs. A place where they can just be one of the guys for a little while. And on a side note, you also get a great haircut, shave, or both.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
David and I both attended the Master Academy of Barbering in Knoxville to get fully licensed here in Tennessee before opening Bolts. It is amazing how many people we have met through the school over the years, whether finding new talent or networking with other shop owners.
We have had several barbers come and work with us over the past few years, like Nelson Smith. After leaving Bolts, he moved to LaFollette TN and opened Clean Cut Manor. A really cool shop that caters to his local community.
Barbering is a small but growing community in the Knoxville area. With so many years in the industry, we encourage every barber that comes to work with us at Bolts to be authentic, learn the business, treat people fairly, hone your skills and take your career as far as you can. We pride ourselves on helping barbers learn how to manage a shop and potentially open shops of their own.
Im not only a working barber and shop owner, but an assistant instructor as well. I went back to MAOB in August of 2023 in a new role as an educator rather than student. I occasionally do seminars and demonstrations for local schools and salons, but my passion is shaping new barbers.
A few months ago, my 19 year old son Liam moved here from California and also enrolled at the Master Academy of Barbering. It is so awesome to teach him the trade and make plans for him to start his journey in the industry. He hopes to help us expand Bolts in the East Tennessee area. We have plans to open several locations in Knoxville and the surrounding communities in the next couple years.
Pricing:
- Haircut (All Ages) $37
- Haircut and Beard $65
- Haircut Beard and Eyebrow $70
- Family 3 Pack $89
- Father and Son (under 12) $60
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Boltsbarbershop.booksy.com
- Instagram: @boltsbarbershop
